The federal government has facilitated the safe and dignified return of Sierra Leone’s former President Ernest Koroma to the country after more than two years in Nigeria.

Foreign affairs minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu announced this in a statement. The minister accompanied Mr Koroma to Freetown on the instruction of President Bola Tinubu, adding that the ex-president’s return marked the successful conclusion of a regional diplomatic and confidence-building process.

According to the statement, Mr Koroma’s relocation to Nigeria in January 2024 followed engagements by the Economic Community of West African States, aimed at promoting peace, stability and political understanding in Sierra Leone.

She explained that the process that helped create conditions for greater understanding between Sierra Leone’s President Julius Bio and Mr Koroma paved the way for the latter’s temporary stay in Nigeria.

The statement reiterated that sustained engagements involving ECOWAS, Nigeria, and other stakeholders helped resolve the issues that necessitated the relocation.

The minister thanked the incumbent Sierra Leonean president, Mr Koroma and Sierra Leoneans for their cooperation and commitment to peace, saying former President Olusegun Obasanjo joined in escorting Koroma back to Freetown.

This, according to her, showed Nigeria’s continued commitment to regional harmony, constitutional order and democratic stability, and she said Mr Koroma’s return would further strengthen national reconciliation and peace in Sierra Leone.

(NAN)